[jibootie]

Hello,


New to the forum but I have lurked quite a bit while I researched what my options are for my current situation.


The wife and I are completely redoing our basement. Bar, dance room for her, fireplace, the whole deal.


The issue I am having is the sound system. I am currently budgeting around $2000 for sound. I realise this is not a lot for many folks here, but given the amount being spent on the basement things are tight now. Unfortunately I can't argue for more allowance for this one


So the question/ situation:


- I currently have a pair of Infinity Primus 250 towers, and a pair of Infinity Primus 140 bookshelf speakers. Supplied by an old Denon AVR-486 receiver

- I have a brand new Klipsch SW-112 sub that I picked up because I found a good deal on it ($350 new)


Every penny that I can save is a penny that I could really use right now.


I really hate the sound I am getting from my Infinity speakers right now, but I wonder how much of that is the receiver?


Would it make sense to go out and buy a great reciever and hope that this picks up the game of my speakers? I need a new receiver anyways because this Denon one does not have HDMI support. I was looking at a deal on a Yamaha RXA1000 because it has dual HDMI outputs and I have a spare TV that I could hook this up to in the bar area to duplicate the main screen's picture.


Main usage will be TV and movies, maybe music 5% of the time. Sitting approximately 9-10 feet from the TV wall. Theatre area is around 13x12, but it is a squared out section of a larger room (maybe 2.5 times the size).


Thoughts on this one gang? Any help would be most appreciated.

 

[Jinjuku]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jibootie /forum/post/20855274


Hello,


New to the forum but I have lurked quite a bit while I researched what my options are for my current situation.


The wife and I are completely redoing our basement. Bar, dance room for her, fireplace, the whole deal.


The issue I am having is the sound system. I am currently budgeting around $2000 for sound. I realise this is not a lot for many folks here, but given the amount being spent on the basement things are tight now. Unfortunately I can't argue for more allowance for this one

I don't have experience with the Primus 250 but I would think they wouldn't be dogs.


What is the current listening environment like? L / W / H, bare floors? etc...


They list the spec at 8 ohm's 92dB efficient. Shouldn't be a problem for your receiver.

 

[flickhtguru]

If your looking in that price range of receiver, I strongly suggest the Onkyo 809. It has 30 watts per channel more than the yammy. Plus IMHO Audyssey in the Onkyo is much better than YPAO in the Yammy for room correction and calibration. I have an Onkyo 808 and absolutely love it. I have worked with Yamaha receivers some and don't really care for their menus and OSD and I just feel the Onkyo is much more user friendly.


Room correction along with a newer receiver might help your speakers a lot.


Are you using a phantom center, cuz you didn't mention anything about a center channel speaker?

 

[m_vanmeter]

once we get some idea of your overall room size (not the "theater area"), and furniture layout, we can help. Off hand, it looks like adding Infinity Primus P362 or P363 towers and a PC350 or PC351 center to make up your front 3 and use the P250's for side surrounds and the P140's for the rears (if you go 7.1)


The Yamaha is a good choice, as is the Onk 809 - just scour the internet for good deals from authorized dealers.

Yamaha (you may have to enter your zip, then select Audio Visual, then select internet dealers - kind of a pain) http://usa.yamaha.com/dealers/

Onkyo http://www.us.onkyo.com/locations_intdealer.cfm and their only authorized dealer for factory refurbished units is Accessories4Less.com http://www.accessories4less.com/make...r/1.html#!more

 

[kevinzoe]

Given that what you're listening to is about 50% equipment and 50% room, I'd be inclinded to ask if you've considered treating the room acoustic? I haven't heard huge sonic differences by changing amps but I have heard HUGE differences when a room is acoustically treated. I'd be inclined to borrow a different amp from a store or friend to try out just to see if it makes much of a sonic difference - I'll predict that it doesn't.

There are all kinds of resources to assist you in treating your room however, including Dr Floyd Toole's book for starters. If you're inclinded to save money then try the DIY route of bass traps and diffusers. YOu might wish to jimmy-rig some sofa pillows at the side wall 1st reflection points just to prove to yourself that acoustical treatments do make an impact. Try standing pillows on a chair on each side wall so that the stack of pillows is at ear height. Of course speaker positioning and listener positioning is critical. Have you a SPL meter and test tones, or better yet, something like Dayton Audio's OmniMic or XTZ acoustical measurement devices so that you can 'see' what your ears are hearing from a frequency sweep and time domain perspective?


Sounds like you have lots of options from which to choose. Trial and error, while time consuming, will eventually lead you down the right path. Pictures of your room might help the rest of us come up with suggestions for you . . .


good luck.

 

[flickhtguru]

I've heard a lot of ppl say that avrs don't make that much difference. In my room my new avr made a huge difference I couldn't believe how much better my crappy speakers sounded. I went from an Onkyo 7.1 HTiB receiver with NO HDMI or hi def audio and 110 watts/ch to the Onkyo 808 which has 135 watts/ch and is THX Select2 Plus certified. And I still just have the audio being run into my receiver via fiber optic.